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SMT-July2016

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July 2016 • SMT Magazine 9
Stephen Las Marias is managing
editor of SMT Magazine. He has
been a technology editor for more
than 12 years covering electronics,
components, and industrial
automation systems.
tance test and IPC TM-650 2.3.25 in an attempt
to investigate the correlation of ROSE (resistivity
of solvent extract) test methods as predictors of
electronic assembly electrical reliability.
Next, I interviewed Keysight Technologies'
NK Chari to learn more about the challenges in
PCBA testing and inspection, technology and
market trends that are driving these issues, and
the latest innovations happening in the test and
inspection industry to help customers address
those challenges. He also discusses best practices
that customers should consider to improve their
PCBA testing and inspection process.
We also have another technical paper writ
-
ten by Chris Hunt and Ling Zou of the National
Physical
Laboratory
and Phil Kinner of Electro-
lube. Their article talks about a new, repeatable
and controllable approach to condensation test-
ing of electronic assemblies.
Jens Mille and Jens Kokott of Goepel Elec-
tronic GmbH, meanwhile, focus on 3D measure-
ment of connectors' swash circumference and
embedment depth.
W
ei Keat Loh of Intel Malaysia and Haley Fu
of
the International Electronics Manufacturing
Initiative (iNEMI) write about iNEMI's work on
establishing package-on-package (PoP) warpage
characteristics and understanding the effect of
current measurement criteria that potentially ad
-
dress the component board assembly challenges.
In his article, National Instruments' Matej
Krajnc explains
why electronics manufacturers
are shifting from using turnkey ATE solutions to
building their own cost-optimized testers based
on off-the-shelf instrumentation. He also dis-
cusses how modular instrumentation platforms
like PXI, which offer the measurement accura-
cy required for R&D and the speed required for
manufacturing test, are helping manufacturers
reduce the cost of test.
We also have interesting article from Ahne
Oosterhof of Eastwood Consulting, who current-
ly consults for LPKF Laser & Electronics North
America, about the challenges of using laser sys-
tems for the depanelization of circuit
boards.
His article provides an in-depth analysis of the
various laser system operating parameters to de-
termine the resulting substrate material tempera-
ture changes during depanelization.
Carr
ying forward last month's topic on sol-
der paste printing, Watson Tseng of Shenmao
America Inc. and Hsiang-Chuan Chen, Ya-Ching
Chuang, Jen-Yio Shiu, and Chang-Meng Wang
of Shenmao Technology Inc. spotlights a new
solder paste alloy developed for automatic laser
soldering processes.
Carl Lincoln of EMS firm Integrated Technol-
ogies Ltd has written about overcoming medical
electronics manufacturing challenges, and lists
the top 10 questions to ask that will help you
make comparisons
when looking to change your
medical PCB manufacturer or are outsourcing for
the first time.
In her column SMT Prospects & Perspectives,
Dr. Jennie Hwang of H-Technologies Group dis
-
cusses the fourth industrial revolution—Industry
4.0—and explains its impact on running busi-
nesses, producing products, offering services,
and living our lives.
Still on the topic of Industr
y 4.0, Michael
Ford of Mentor Graphics takes a look at the most
common approaches adopted so far—Industry
4.0, Internet of Manufacturing (IoM), or smart
factory projects—and discusses how things are
going, what can be learned from the experiences,
and how things could be done better.
For his column this month, Tom Borkes of The
Jefferson Project dissects the STEM education and
presents the real problem that's been going on in
the STEM initiative for the past three decades.
Last but not least, Robert Voigt of DDM Nov-
astar continues his series on selecting a selective
soldering system, focusing on the programming
software needed to optimize production speed.
I hope you enjoy this month's issue of
SMT
Magazine. Next month, we'll feature the "voices
of the industry." Stay tuned!
By the way, we are always looking for good,
technical content that's relevant to the industry.
If you would like to contribute, feel free to drop
us a note.
SMT
IMPROVING TEST AND INSPECTION